Last year (2014) I went to Lollapalooza Chile on my own. It was glorious and I learned a lot about music festivals, I enjoyed some AMAZING performances and had a pretty epic dance party during Zedd’s concert.
By the end of last year I was ready for Lollapalooza 2015, not to mention it was gonna happen the day before my birthday so I HAD TO GO! It was my birthday present to me. One of my best friends said he was coming with me, I was thrilled, I loved Lolla on my own but I figured going with friends was gonna be pretty epic too. Another friend signed up at the last second and the three of us made our way to the festival.
Now going with friends is fun but I have to admit it gets stressful cause you try to stick together but then one of you wants to go A band and the other wants to see B band. So after loosing my friends several times and getting annoyed about not finding them I thought “Screw it! I’m here to have fun! After all this is my birthday present to me!” And once again I had a GLORIOUS time! I did eventually met with my friends and had a lovely time with them, but I think next festival will be a solo event for me.
Anyway, last year I realize there weren’t that many blog posts/ websites/ pins about to do or what to bring to a festival when you go by yourself. So I figured I would do list (I began it last year) and I’ll add a few things of what happens when you go as a group or with friends and what to do if you loose them.
- First of all there’s no staying overnight on this festival, which I am grateful for, but still you're on your feet for two full days with crazy temperature changes (at least that’s the weather in Chile, morning was about 28C and at 6, both days, change to about 8C lovely). I strongly suggest getting a locker to put your hoodie and other things you might not want to carry and a small bag to have with you.
This the bag I took
and what I had in it
2. Ziploc bag
3. Wet wipes
4. Eye drops (I wore contacts)
5. Portable charger
6. Mints
7. Plasters
8. Tissues
9. Sunglasses and regular glasses
10. Camera
11. Earplugs
12. Sunscreen & lip balm
13. Hair ties, hair pins & headband
14. Pills for headache
15. Tiny notebook (with all important info written down in case your phone dies)
16. Purse
- Merch table is awesome to buy things you might have forgotten about but they also sold out quite quickly so, if you forgot something, buy it straight away! I didn’t take a thick enough hoodie and when I went to buy one it was sold out.
- Drink plenty of water, as much as you can and buy a bottle of water before the last show you’ll see as they might ran out of water and leave you only with energy drinks and vitamin water. Also rest, if you're tired sit down! At Lolla Chile there's an arena and it's fairly cold inside, which makes it the perfect place to go hide from the boiling hot sun!
- Wanna feel like a hipster and have fake flowers in your head? They are adorable but be prepared to be chased by bees, nope I am not joking! I love the flowers and I will use them always but be prepared for the bees! I was chased once, fun story but not something I want happening during a festival.
- When you first arrive at the festival locate: food area and market place! My first year in Lolla Chile I couldn’t find the food area at all, I spent the first day surviving on snacks so when I found the food area I ate everything I could! Pizza is real food, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! This year I looked for the food area first and for lunch I had a delicious salmon salad and then I had sushi for lunch.
- Even if you’re not the biggeds EDM fan, go check out whoever’s playing and then go fucking mental. Doesn't matter if it's the last act of the night and you’re are completely knackered, go to the EDM music and go completely bonkers, it will be worth it. Nothing beats a dance party to get you hyped.
- Adidas and their gigantic Originals sign that, literally, made it rain during the day, will be one of the coolest things and most appreciated things on the sunny and boiling hot day. You won’t be wet for long so enjoy the cooling sensation it gives you and carry on with your day, you’ll be dry in a minute again.
- On Lolla 2014 you had to pay for WiFi but during Lolla 2015 you didn’t have to pay and it only worked on a certain area. Either way if you buy a WiFi code, be warned, it does not work the entire time. However I realize I had better signal or any signal for that matter near the big brands tents (Coca Cola, Adidas, Playstation).
- About the big brand tents. Check if there’s any app or anything you need to do to get free goodies. I’ve always participated in the Coca Cola Tent since they have the easiest requirements. During Lolla 14 you had to download their app and during Lolla 2015 you had to take a picture with one of their characters and uploaded it to social media. Both times you had access to their 3 storey tent, which gave you an amazing view of the Coca Cola stage (one of the main stages) and you got a free cold can of Coke, which is much appreciated when you’re boiling hot.
Now…what if you go with friends?
First rule: have meeting points and try to stick to them and the times you’ve decided to meet. But in the case you or your friends don’t stick to times, don’t stress and carry on with your day. I spent a good 30 minutes waiting for my friends that never show up. I have to admit I did curse at them but after that I decided to enjoy my day, I knew that by the end of the festival we would meet again so why bother getting angry at something you have no control over?
Second rule: make sure everyone knows how to get back to their own place, there were 3 of us and one of them wasn’t staying in the same place as the other 2 and she had no idea how to get back to her place and, because of that we nearly missed the last train that took us home. So yes, knowing how to get back home safely is a must!
Third rule: HAVE FUN! These festivals are unique every time and you will only enjoy it if you’re happy, so do what makes you happy (within reason though! Don’t make anything that will threaten your or anyone else’s safety!)
